The #8-ranked Rabun County Wildcats (20-5; 8-0 in 8-AA) are on fire right now. Thanks in large part to Connor McKay, Gus Hood, and Cooper Welch, the boys secured their 20th win of the season with a 86-64 beatdown of visiting Banks County (7-18; 3-5) on Friday night.

McKay had a sensational 31-point performance, complete with a dunk in the fourth quarter. Though Banks got out to a 5-0 lead early, a Grayson Carver bucket gave Rabun a 12-10 lead. Hood nailed a triple to push it up to 19-12 after one. Hood had 7 points and Carver 5 in the first quarter.

Banks County’s Mason Adams gave the Leopards one last lead at 24-23 with a jumper in the second, but McKay went to work to put Rabun up 35-26 going into the locker room. He scored 12 points in the first half, while Welch added 11 in the first half.

The Leopards got a stellar outing from Hunter Youngblood, whose sharp-shooting kept Banks County in the game for awhile. He hit on 4 3-pointers and 11 points in the second half alone. However, the Wildcats were up 60-49 at the end of the third, and cruised relatively easily the rest of the way. McKay, who completed a double-double with 13 rebounds, ignited the crowd with a thunderous alley oop dunk late in the game.

Behind McKay’s 31 points (19 in the second half), Hood finished with 20, Welch 13, and Grayson Carver 11. Bear Old added 4 points, while Jarret Giles had 3, Clayton Dixon 2, and one apiece for Mike Swager and Tristen Burrell. The win was the 7th in a row for the Wildcats, and 20th of the season.

Banks County was led by Youngblood’s 21 points. Dakota Ivey chipped in with 15 and Bradley Lewis 13, while Adams and Antonio Gonzalez had 7 each. Banks County connected on 8 3-pointers, while Rabun had 10.

INSIDER: PLAY OF THE GAME & PLAYERS OF THE GAME